Lubricant sealing means for journals



Jan.

P. J.- POOL LUBRICANT SEALING MEANS FOR JOURNALS Filed Nov I 2, 1937 5Sheets-Sheet l 1 I E24. \ZA- Z7 INVENTOR 3 v Pefer J Pao/ 1: TEE/3W4Jan.- 10, 1939. 5, P OL 2,143,249

LUBRICANT SEALING MEANS FOR JOURNALS Filed Nov. 2, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 22/ 1/ 5 Z/U 5 I v F 1516. M

. 70 Refer" JPoo/ 2% g5 86 k\ E Jan. 10, 1939. P. J. POOL 2,

- LUBRICANT SEALING MEANS FOR JOURNALS Filed Nov. 2, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet3 INVENTOR Pe/er J Poa/ BY J I ATTORNEY m" tact is obtained between therotating member rinsed Jan. 10, was

PATENT OFFICE LUBRICANT some MEANS FOR JOURNALS Peter J. Pool, Clement,Fla; Application November 2, 1937, Serial No. 172,414

12 Claims. (01. 308-80) This invention relates to journal bearings andmore particularly to-a methodand means for lubricating the same.

The invention eomprehends the provision oi a journal bearingparticularly adaptable for railway car axles in which the lubricant ismaintained within the journal and sealed against leakage.

An object oi. the invention is the provision of means whereby a liquidtype lubricant may be maintained in emcient contact with the rotatingparts and sealed against leakage by sealing elements which may beassembled after the car axle is in position in the journal box.

Another object of the invention'is the provision of means whereby anefiective and eficient conand resiliently mounted elements for thepurpose of retaining the liquid lubricant within the lournal box.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient seal forpreventing leakage of a. liquid lubricant from the journal box embracinga simple and highly efiective sealing means which may be readilyassembled in its proper position within a journal box of the usualconstruction.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of this inventionsuch as relate tothe arrangement, operation and function of the'rel'atedelements of the structure, to various details of construction and tocombinations or parts, elements per se, and to economies oil-manufactureand numerous other features as willbe apparent ,from 'a. considerationor the specification and drawings of a form of the invention, which maybe preferred, in which:

' Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a journal box andbearing incorporating the. arrangement of my invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through the journal box; certainparts being broken away for purposes of illustration; 1

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the sealing supporting means of myinvention;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view taken subs stantlally on the line Hof Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the lineIi of Figure 2; I

Figure 6 is a. plan view showing theassembly of the segments forming apart of the sealing means; i 1

Figure 7 1s a. detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 11of Figure 3; v t

Figure 8 is an isometric view showing in element of the invention;

upper portion of the journal box.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line8-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 10 is an isometric view showing an element of the invention; J a

Figure 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken 5 substantially on theline il-li ofFigure 2;

Figure 12 is a side sectional view showing a modified form of theinvention; v

Figure 13 is a sectional view of the device shown in Figure 12; thesection being taken substan- 10 tlally on the line l3l3 of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is an isometric view or the seal supporting means of theinvention;

Figure 15 is a sectionalvlew taken substantially on the line lS-Ili ofFigure 13 looking in 15 the direction of the arrows; l g

- Figure 16 is a top plan vlew'ot a portion of the sealing means of theinvention; 2

Figure 17 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line "-51 orFigure 13; 3

Figure 18 is a view showing a-modifled form of the invention;

Figure 19 is an isometric view showing a modifled form of sealingsegment supporting means;

Figure 20 is an end view 01' the supporting means shown in Figure 19;

Figure. 21 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric view showing theabutment or the sealing means with the bearing brass;

Figure 22 is an isometric view showing the as- 80 sembly o! the segmentsupport and segments forming a part or my invention V Figure 23 is a.fragmentary sectional view showingthe assembly of elements shown inFigure 21,taken on line 23-23 of Figure 21. 7

Referring to the drawings in detail, numeral l designates the journalbox of a railway car which has a'pivoted door 2 normally held closed bymeans of spring 3, the Journal box which is adapted to be attached to orform a part of an 4o associated truck side frame. Within the journal boxis the car axle or journal 5, above whichis positioned the bearing brass6, against which the journal has its bearing, the bearing brass in turncontacting a backing plate'fl secured in th The usual Journal boxconstruction incorporates a. pairo! spaced upwardly extending flanges orprojections 1 between which is arranged a. dust or dirt excluding meansor guard 8 formed of wood or other suitable material having a centralopening to accommodate the axle. This means may be slidably moved. intoposition in the space between the flanges before the car axle isassembled in the journal box. 7 It is to be noted that [g the car axleis provided with shoulders t and iii which are adapted to straddle theends of the bearing brass t as particularly illustrated in Figure 1. Bythis means the brass is caused to follow longitudinal movements of theaxle without disturbing the position of the journal box 5.

In the arrangement of my invention, the journal box is provided withspaced plates or abutment walls 2! and 22 which are welded as at 23 attheir points oi juncture with the inner wall of the journal box andextend to the top por tion of the box. In incorporating the arrangementof my invention in journal boxes already fabricated, it is preferable toweld the plates 26 and 22 in position in the hon. However, in theconstruction of an entirely new journal box, the plates 2i and 22 may becast or otherwise integrally formed with the journal box and theinterior walls at and 2b machined to present a smooth surface.lnterposed between the inner walls 2 5 and of these plates is asemi-annularly shaped collar or member 271 having its side walls in asnug yet slidable fit with the walls of the plates. It is to be notedthat the upper extremities 2d of the collar 2? do not extend over thediameter of the interior surface of the collar 21 so as to facilitatethe assembly of the collar 21 between the plates 2i and 2t. Positionedimmediately above the collar all are extensions or blocks 30 which havetheir lower surfaces resting upon the surfaces 28 of the collar. Thelateral exterior walls of collar 21 are provided with slots 3| withinwhich are positioned plates 32 held in place by means of screws 33extending through openings in the walls of collar'fi'l and project intothreaded openings in the plates 32 whereby the latter are fixedlysecured to the collar 2?. The blocks so are also provided with slotsupon their rear faces to accommodate the connecting plates 32 wherebythe latter hold the blocks it in predetermined relation to the collar271.

The collar 2! is provided with bores 345 which accommodate coil springs35 positioned between the lower inner wall of the journal box and thecollar which serve at all times to urge the collar to its uppermostposition.

The interior surface 37 of the collar it is of arcuate or sphericalconfiguration, the curvature being generated in the form of a segment ofa sphere having its center at the interception of the axis of the caraxle with a central plane passing transversely through the collar 2i.Positioned within the collar 21 and having an exterior surface ofcoincident spherical curvature with that of the surface 31 is a partialannular member 39 forming a a sealing means support and which isU-shaped in cross section as illustrated in Figure 4. The groove formedin member 39 is adapted to accommodate a. spring plate M which is formedwith a plurality of projecting cars 42 adapted to contact with the innersur face between the side walls of member 39 so as to hold the springplate 4|. in constant engagement with annularly shaped segments d3,there being three in number in the form of the invention as illustratedin Figure 2. It is to be noted that the series of segments 43 extendcircumferentially a. distance approximately equal to two thirds of thecircumferential dimension of the axle journal 5 with the end segmentscontacting the bearing brass 6 as shown in Figure 2.

In order to-provide orassure of a leak proof lubricant seal the segments43 are preferably supplemented with longitudinal slots 44 in which areslidably positioned relatively small segments arena-lo (it which arearranged to overlap the joints between the larger segments it and at thesame time being of considerably shorter length tend to form an extremelyclose sealing contact with the exterior surface of the ame 5. Such anarrangement of small sealing segments is desirable in that duringmovement of a car particularly over the rail joints, the car axlejournal is subjected to continued vertical oscillation or movement andthe small segments having less inertia readily follow the journal tomaintain an effective seal. The small segments is are urged intoengagement with the axle under the influence of a plurality of coilsprings d'l arranged in bores 68 in the segments 36 as shown in Figuresand 5. .isparticularly illustrated in Figures 2 and 5, the largersegments 63 are held in engagement with the axle 5 under the influenceof coil springs 55}.

The spring plate ii is provided with a series of openings hi toaccommodate the springs 5d, the latter being positioned in alignedshallow bores 52 and 53 whereby there is maintained not only a goodfrictional or sealing contact between segments 633 in the axle 5, butsupplemented with the sealing engagement obtained between the segmentsit and the axle Li, I have provided an effective sealing arrangementwhich will substantially eliminate any leakage of lubricant from thejournal box past the sealing segments.

Arranged at the sides of the bearing brass immediately above theextremities of the blocks 36 are'members 55 which are provided withbores 5d, the latter accommodating coil springs Ell. The inner faces ofthe blocks or members 55 are provided with felt or other suitablematerial forming sealing surfaces 53 which are adapted for engagementwith the sides of the bearing brass t and the backing shoe 23. Themembers 55 are also provided at their upper surfaces with bores til inwhich are positionedcoil springs 6 i], the lat ter tending to urge themembers 55 into contact with the upper surface of the blocks 36positioned above the collar 2i while the horizontally disposed springs57 urge the blocks laterally so that the felt surfaces iii are insealing contact with the sides of. the bearing brass d and the backingshoe 23, thus preventing leakage of lubricant adjacent these elements.

In order to prevent seepage or leakage of lubricant adjacent thejuncture of the end of one of the segments 39 and the projection it ofthe bearing brass 5, the member 353 has surfaces t2 in engagement withthe side walls of projection it formed upon hearing brass t, theprojection it being slotted as at 35 to accommodate the segment it andthe supplemental sealing segment Mi so that they may establish sealingcontact with the car'axle 5 as shown in Figure 11. It is to be notedthat the slot 65 in the projection ii is elongated so as to permitlongitudinal movement of the bearing brass 6 independent of the sealingarrangement. By providing the member 39 of a lateral dimensionsufficient to overlap the slot 65 in the projection H of the bearingbrass, leakage will be prevented at this point because the slot 65 is atall times covered by portions of the .member 39 during longitudinalmovement of the'bearing brass and car axle relative to the sealingarrangement.

In the assembly of the arrangement, the collar 2'! is first placed inthe journal box and positioned between the plates 2! and 22. A threadedmember 25 is then inserted into a. threaded opening in the lower surfaceof collar 21, the threaded member 28 projecting through an opening 28 inwhich would otherwise cause or subject the seal-- the bottom wall of thejournal box, thethreaded member carrying a nut 36. As the collar 21 isslipped into place, the springs 35 are positioned beneath the'collar andwhen the threaded memher 25 projects through the opening in the loottomof the journal box, the nut 36 is applied.

and turned until the collar 21 is drawn to its lowermost position in thejournal box against the expansive force of the springs 35. with thecollar 2'5 in this position, the member it is then moved lnto groperoosltlon with its convex surface resting in the concave sulface of theoollaw: fat. The spring backlog or sealing plate M is then inserted thenconsecutively slipped: into the slot in the member llll and the soilsprlngs assembled toast: of the segments Due to the fact that thesegments when he assembled position extend more than one-half of the waysrouml axle, it is necessary that they be in sections less than udiameter in ordel. to he assembler} into position about the axle. thesome time, smell segments e are positioned in the grooves lo the largersesments end movetl lutoplo oer position mound the axle loumel. The cellsum-lee all times tend to urge smolles into sealing relation wltlz thejournal. 3 have found it oleelrahle use tlfle supplemental segments i tin order tllot durlue; the movement of the axle when the railway em isin motion the toad regularities sometimes cause vertical move ments theaxle sutl lourual, see

- the movements or t. elleetive luhrieaut e toutnsl.

- -'e heel" seal ole neat g t moved 1 theleloolts to utlueuee ol u eltor let tell connect to mem'oess lstlou the title t it heuploerent the hs" the small-gement of my invention the journal e 5: may so rtain allqultl lubricant which dorms" motlon ol the railway car will. not last:toast the sesllug mes-us herelnhelose described omit :vet rougemeutprovides a bath of oil the journal and heating tress without the use ofoil soaked waste and the lltse which have been usedzorlot to the presentlnventlou. The plate serves the purpose of preventing the oll frompusslutg through the joints of segments W so that shoultl any oil passdownwardly through the spate at the juncture of the segments, the oilwoultl be prevented lrom flowlng through the groove in member 39 byreason ol the sealing plate it.

Thus, it will be seen that the sealing means of my invention ispositioned luterlorly of the box and inside ol the dust excluding meanseffectively prevents the ingress. of dust, dirt, ballast or forelgnmatterfrom reacluug the interior 0: the box The larger segments 43 are,

posltloned Within coll springs t5.

ing means of my invention or the relatively soft axle journal toexcessive wear or become "cut away. 3 a v It will also be seen that withthe arrangement of my invention there is afforded considerable 8,11space at all times around the axle journal which adds in dissipating theheat of friction, thus materially decreasing the temperature of theheating and increasing the life of the bearing.

Flgnres 12 through 1? inclusive illustrate a modified form of theinvention in which the journot hex t is provided with spaoed'plates orguides til and, t2 vilthlu which is slldaloly position-eel a horse shoeshapetl construction Z'lf which sorrespomls to the element or collar 2'5in the form shown in l lmlres l and 2 heremhetore described The collarconstruction 21' in this form of the invention is assembled from twosimilarly shaped elements ll! ll viltcleh are recessed at theirjuxtouosed portions to resolve .tololug plates l3 all t which serve tohold the members "50 and H together toy means oi screws Ill. Theassembly ol' elements may take place after the members a ll aml ll arein posltlon to the slot formed by the plates 12d and 22. The loweradjacent portlons oi members and ll are bored and threaded to reeelve ethreaclal member so which passes through on lmtllreaded opening it inthe lease of the hot; and is'provltled with a. nut 3t vihleh tunotiousthew the eons-ttuctlon 2'?! tlotmwez'elly the expansive force of springsto lasllitete assembly of the sealing construcositionetl .wltlunluterlor olroular wall of the sonstrustlon t'l e. partial auuularlyshaped l has outer surface coincident ll tvhlsh ls retitled with an allslot lll Wl'llsln is adapted. to Tfifittittl a plurality ol sealingstole hove surfaces adapted to the emlzodlment lllostrateel, I ve sh Wuthaws lntllvlclual seollros: segments l l 37 use so formed as toteel'mlt thelr luseu llt sroulul the car axle the on: its to one "tonlo. the jow'ual loos: as the see- 7 may lusertecl around the axle to thenew heremlsel'ose tlescslheol with the tom: of

invention shoves in Flames 1 and 2. The segote also oentmllv slotted toreceive a plurality of supplemental segments M which overlo thejunctul'es ol theses-meets ll't and engage exterior periphery of thejournal W. The

wltltl the journal by means of coil springs 8t and the smollelsegmentstill are urged into engagement with the journal by means of cell springsto In order to prevent leakage at the abutting ends ol the segments 82,I have provided a. plate member 88 which is similar in construction tothe plate M in the form 0!. the invention illustrated in Figures 2 andwhich serves to prevent'leatzage or seepage of lubricant past the ends01' the seallng segments. The upper extremities of member ll, the endsof the outermost segments 82, and

the ends of the outermost segments 84 fit in sun:

a that the arrangementof curved surfaces between engagement with thebearing brass G. The extremities of the outermost segments arepreferably stepped and the flange portion of the bearing brass 6' iscorespondingly stepped as shown at it so as toform an overlap or sealingsuri'ace at the juncture of the segments with the bearing brass.

This stepped construction is shown in detail in Figure 17.

The extremities of the element 27 are adapted to be engaged by blocks55' which are similar in construction to the blocks 55 illustrated inFigures 8 and 9 and which are adapted to engagethe side walls of thebearing brass 6' and the backing shoe 23' in the same manner as in theconstruction of the arrangement illustrated in Figure 2.

The assembly of this form of the invention is accomplished similarly tothat of the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 through 11inclusive. The elements 16 and H are first inserted separately in thespace between the abutment walls 2i and 22' and are Joined together bymeans of retaining plates 18 and 14, the screws lb being inserted tohold these parts in assembled position. This assembly forms the horseshoe shaped element or construction 21 which carries the sealing means.The springs 35' are inserted beneaththe element 21' and the nut 86'manip- -ulated on the threaded member 36 to draw the element 21' toits-lowermost position against the expansive force of the springs 35'.

The annularly shaped plate 11 is then inserted which is shaped to fitthe inner cylindrical surface of the element 21'. The sealing segmentcarrying .element or member 80 is then inserted The segments inassembled position snugly fit' the exterior cylindrical surface of thejournal 5' to efiect a seal with the journal. The blocks 55' areinserted and retracted and the journal brass 8 and the backingplate orshoe inserted in position over the car axle journal. The blocks may thenbe released by manipulation of the nuts 49' cooperating withv thethreaded members 38 to permit the vertical surfaces of the blocks 55' tomove under the influence of springs 57 and El into engagement with-thelateral edge walls of the bearing brass 6' and the backing plate 23' toeffect a lubricant seal at this point.

It will thus be apparent that in the forms of my invention hereinillustrated and described, an efiective sealing means is providedwherein the lubricant may be in liquid form and contained within thelower portion of the Journal box i with the car axle journal extendingdownwardly into the bath of oil or lubricant. It is constantlylubricated and the sealing. means of the invention prevents the loss oflubricant at the rear of the Journal box. It is further to be noted theplate 11 and member 80 is such as to form virtually a ball Joint so asto permit limitedsimilar to the form of the invention shown n- Figures 1through l1 inclusive, with the suppor essence ing means 27' separatedabout a vertical trans verse plane into two similar portions 8%" and3t".

Each of the sections 31' and Bl" are provided with several pairsoialigned counter bores tilt within which are positioned expansive coilsprings iiii which tend to urge the outer walls of the sections 31' and31" into sealing contact with the inner walls-of the abutment plates 2i"and 22". The sections .37 and iii" are held in assembled relationshipand properly maintained in such relationship by means of dowels itssnugly fitting into aligned bores HM in the sections of the support. Itis to be noted that the exterior surfaces of the portions 31' and 31"are of arcuate con figuration, the curvature being generated about apoint on the normal center of the axle journal and the convex arcuatesurfaces snugly fit within the member 39' in which construction the ringshaped element it shown in Figure 15 need not be used. In assemblingthis arrangement; the upper portions 30 are removed from the majorsections 31' and 3'! which permits the insertion of the parts into theJournal box, after which clone sealing engagement is thiis maintainedbetween the support and the walls of the plates 2i" and 22" in thejournal box.

In Figures 21 and 23, as particularly illustrated, the close sealingengagement oi the yoke or member 39 with the bearing brass 8 illustratesin detail the slot 45 in the projection it formed upon the bearingbrass, the slot being for the purpose of permitting relativelongitudinal movement of the brass with respec to the brass sealingsegment so that moveme t 01! the brass in following the movements of theaxle Journal when the car is in motion will not disturb the seal betweenthe segment 43 and the car axle journal. This figure also illustrateshow the side portions of member 39 overlap the slot to to maintain theseal at all times, the upper extremity of the member 39 being in contactwith the horizontal lower edge portion of the bearing brass t.

Figure 22 shows the particular configuration of the member as and theassembly of the sealing segments,- particularly illustrating theuniplanar walls 45' so as to permit the member 89 to be slidably movedover the axle during assembly and after the member 89 is in positionupon the axle the segments 3 may be placed. around the axle into theposition shown in Figure 22.

It is apparent that within the scope of the invention, modifications anddifferent arrangements may be made other than is herein disclosed, andthe present disclosure is illustrative merely, the inventioncomprehending all variations thereof.

What I claim is: g

1; In combination with a car axle journal, a Journal box; abearing bramfor the icurnai, said journal box having a pair oi spaced abutmentwalls; a member 'slidably positioned between said walls; said memberhaving a concave inner surface; a second member having a convex exteriorsurface arranged to coincide with the convex surface on said member;said second member having an annular groove; a sealing plate positionedin the bottom of said groove; and a plurality oi sealing segments havingabutting ends positioned in said groove and arranged for sealingengageried by said blocks into sealing engagement with the bearingbrass.

11. In combination with .a car axle journal, a journal box; abearingbrass for said journal, said journal box having a lubricantretaining portion beneath the journal, said journal box having a pair ofspaced abutment members; a support slidably mounted between the abutmentmembers; a member carried by said support and having a groove therein; aplurality of segments amaasa journal box; a bearing brass for saidJournal, said journal box having a lubricant retaining portion beneaththe journal, said journal box having a pair of spaced abutment members;a U-shaped support slidably mounted between the abutment members; springmeans positioned between said support and said journal box for urgingsaid support toward car axle journal; a member carried by said supportand having a groove therein; a plurality of segments having abutting endportions snugly fitting said groove; spring means for urging saidsegments into sealing engagement with the car axle journal, said bearingbrass having a slot adjacent one of said sealing segments to accommodatethe extremity thereof, said 'slot being wider than said sealing segmentproviding limited longitudinal movement of said bearing brassindependent of said sealing segment, said member being wider than saidslot whereby said member at all times overlaps the slot in said bearingbrass.

PETER J. POOL.

